21 Tips for Creating a Great Active Adult Community
William E. Becker

The boomers may be rewriting the rulebook on today’s active adult market. But there are some basic mainstays that builders, developers and marketing professionals should consider when developing an active adult lifestyle community.

Below are 21 tips to create a successful active adult strategy:

1. Location is prime in market positioning and creating a “branded” product. Good sites that are relatively close to existing commercial, social, entertainment, religious, culture and educational services are extremely marketable amenities by themselves.
   
2. Don’t become “deal-driven” by property that is a bargain or a steal.  Transportation access via major highways that are easy to reach or site frontage that a community has to express itself, or that market prospects need to find the community, are key issues in site selection.
   
3. “Environment” is what mature buyers want rather than reconstituted suburbia. Value occurs when the site is interwoven with the natural area features and in the design of the community.
   
4. Never make unrealistic assumptions on the size and depth of the marketplace. Don’t be impressed with the volume of traffic. Be impressed with the number of repeat prospects/visitors.
   
5. Progressive builders must make a substantial commitment to win consumer confidence. Mature buyers do not buy futures unless they know the builder’s reputation or company. They buy when they see the builder keeping his promise and delivering the on-site amenities, homes and lifestyle.
   
6. Active adults constantly look for “newness” and want a lifestyle that elevates their moods and desires at a price commensurate with their ambitions and income at this stage of life.
   
7. Security and safety is the number one priority in the minds of 50+ consumers. Priority number two is the clubhouse and/or concierge services. This becomes the hub, the heart and soul of the community when meeting new friends, new neighbors and living the lifestyle.
   
8. Mature consumers don’t generally buy on the first, second or third visit. It can take from 3-6 months or up to 12-24 months. They do not like to be pioneers. They want to be sure they are making the right decision and will fit into the community. 
   
9. The mature buyer is looking for a “basic home” that they can add customize by adding options and upgrades. “Basic value” in the home increases the perceived value of the lifestyle amenities of the community.
   
10. “Base Value” is what buyers want in addition to the overall lifestyle, location and pricing. Builders should avoid loading up the product with costly features and all types of “bells and whistles” that overprice the product against the competition.
    
11. Services that a builder/developer offers create additional sales. The marketplace is continually growing in affluence and active adults ages 50-74 are willing to spend money on services that allow them to fully enjoy their active life at this life stage.
    
12. Success in active adult strategic marketing strategy begins with a “knock-out entrance” and approach to the community. This includes proper signage, landscaping and lots of color and visual appeal, which builds up the emotional appeal that says “I want to live here.”
    
13. Large or small communities should have a country club/resort look. Include the elements that prospects/buyers dream about, but stay in line with your product/pricing levels.
    
14. Housing product should reflect a picture-book look. Add features that look and feel better than the competition and have “memory points” that prospects remember when they leave the community.
    
15. Neighborhoods should be smaller and distinctive with their entry signage and look. Don’t make them linear; cluster them to allow the product to have an open-space look, with lots of green space.
    
16. Add value to each neighborhood by treating the streetscape in the same manner as the exterior common area space.
    
17. Create a differential in house design for each neighborhood by offering varying elevations, no look-alike or side-by-side homes. An internal amenity in each neighborhood (i.e., gazebo, small pond, rock formation, entry monuments) adds perceived value to the home sites and location of the homes.
    
18. Create and design active adult communities that allow for social interaction among residents … yet also allow for privacy, tranquility and comfort.
    
19. Low or maintenance-free living is one of the key priorities for 50+ buyers who are moving from their existing residence.
    
20. Lifestyle activity directors are a “must” whether they work full- or part-time, depending on the size of the community. They set the tone, promote interaction of residents and fulfill the concept of a “24/7” schedule to escape boredom.
    
21. When buying land, look for the most desirable parcels, rather than the inexpensive. Buyers want to “live where the action is,” convenient to all the activities, not in the “out-of-the-way” locations. Being close or convenient to life-long friends, family and grandchildren is still an objective, in addition to making new relationships.

I hope these tips help you as start planning your active adult community. Best of luck!

With 40 years’ experience marketing active adult lifestyle communities, William E. Becker is the managing director and president of The William E. Becker Organization in Teaneck, NJ. Becker has taught and written extensively on this subject. He has been presented with many awards for his accomplishments and is a popular speaker at industry conferences, including Building for Boomers & Beyond: 50+ Housing Symposium 2006 in Phoenix. Becker is a charter member and past president of the Institute of Residential Marketing, currently is a trustee for the NAHB 50+ Housing Council, and has been named a Legend of the Industry by NAHB’s Sales and Marketing Council and an Icon of the Industry by the 50+ Housing Council. He can be reached at 201-833-2610 or webatweb@aol.com.

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